History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Volume 1Smith, Joseph, Jr.
Religion
History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Volume 1
Smith, Joseph, Jr.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Smith, Joseph, Jr., 1805-1844
Compare these conditions so vividly described with what Joel himself
says of the period when the Spirit of the Lord shall be poured out
upon all flesh, and it will at once be clear that the two Prophets
are dealing with the same period, and not only dealing with the same
period, but that the period itself is certainly far beyond in time the
days of Peter; in fact is still in the future; for the sun has not
yet been turned into blackness; nor the moon into blood; nor have the
stars withdrawn their shining. It is obvious that the events upon the
day of Pentecost did not fulfil the terms of this prophecy, except in
those particulars already pointed out. The mention in this prophecy,
however, of those special signs which Jesus refers to as immediately
preceding His own second and glorious coming, clearly demonstrate that
Joel was speaking of the last days indeed, and not of a circumstance
that occurred in connection with a period more properly designated
as the Dispensation of the Meridian of Time. Immediately following
his prediction of the outpouring of God's Spirit upon all flesh, Joel
represents the Lord as saying: "And I will show wonders in the heavens
and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall
be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and
the terrible day of the Lord come." And later: "The sun and the moon
shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The Lord
also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and
the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of
his people, and the strength of the children of Israel."
Compare this with the Savior's description of conditions in the earth
that will precede His own second coming:
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be
darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall
fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and
then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then shall
all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man
coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall
send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather
together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the
other. [25]
The same wonders in heaven and earth; the same changes in sun, and
moon, and stars; the same promises of the gathering of God's people as
are found in the prophecy of Joel. There can be no question, then, but
that the prophecy of Joel refers to the same "last days" that Jesus
here alludes to--the days of the coming of the Son of Man--and not to
the days of Peter and the other Apostles in the Meridian of time.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account